Ocean energy (OE) is one of the focus areas identified as a potential source of growth in the European Commission's Blue Growth Communication[1]. It is widely recognised that developing the energy resource in our seas and oceans could benefit European citizens by increasing energy security, enhancing economic growth and job creation, and mitigating the negative impacts of climate change. There are, however, significant investment costs and bottlenecks that would need to be overcome. Ocean energy is believed to be able to supply up to 15% of EU energy demand in 2050[2] but only 248MW[3] are currently installed equivalent to approximately 0.02%[4].
This public consultation on ocean energy was carried out in order to gain insight into the development of these energy resources. The responses will serve as a basis for an assessment of the policy options available to support this sector at the EU level. The consultation process took place over two months (14 June – 14 September 2012); as of 9th October 2012, 128 responses were received from a variety of stakeholders. The key findings of the public consultation are reported here.
[1] COM (2012) 494
[2] European Ocean Energy Agency (undated) 'Towards European Industrial Leadership in Ocean Energy in 2020'
[3] Ocean Energy Systems (2011) 'Annual Report'
[4] Estimation based on the assumption of gross EU electricity generation of 3410 TWh (SEC(2011) 1565) and capacity factor of 35%.